초록 ▼

A system for circulating and conditioning air within a nuclear reactor habitability area is provided. The system may include an upper plenum formed between a lowered ceiling partition within the habitability area and a ceiling of the habitability area and a lower plenum formed between a raised floor

A system for circulating and conditioning air within a nuclear reactor habitability area is provided. The system may include an upper plenum formed between a lowered ceiling partition within the habitability area and a ceiling of the habitability area and a lower plenum formed between a raised floor partition within the habitability area and a floor of the habitability area. The system can additionally include at least one recirculation air handling unit located within the habitability area, the at least one recirculation air handling unit operable to generate a recirculation air flow within the habitability area by circulating air between the lower and upper plenums absent any air carrying ductwork routed through the ceiling, floor or walls of the habitability area.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A system for circulating and conditioning air within a nuclear plant, said system comprising: a habitability area with walls, a ceiling and a floor;an upper plenum formed between a lowered ceiling partition within the habitability area and the ceiling of the habitability area;a lower plenum forme

1. A system for circulating and conditioning air within a nuclear plant, said system comprising: a habitability area with walls, a ceiling and a floor;an upper plenum formed between a lowered ceiling partition within the habitability area and the ceiling of the habitability area;a lower plenum formed between a raised floor partition within the habitability area and the floor of the habitability area;at least one recirculation air handling unit located within the habitability area, the at least one recirculation air handling unit operable to generate a recirculation air flow throughout the habitability area by circulating air between the lower and upper plenums absent any air carrying ductwork routed through the ceiling, floor or walls of the habitability area; anda smoke purge subsystem including, a smoke purge fan located exterior to the habitability area and directly connected to the upper plenum via smoke purge outlet ductwork, andexterior air inlet ductwork connecting an exterior air access to the lower plenum via the exterior air inlet ductwork,the smoke purge fan being a dedicated fan for the upper plenum of the habitability area and being operable to draw exterior air into the habitability area through the exterior air inlet ductwork and purge air from within the habitability area to an environment exterior of the habitability area through the smoke purge outlet ductwork,the lower plenum being a supply plenum for the recirculation air flow and the upper plenum being a return plenum for the recirculation air flow,wherein the smoke purge fan is further operable to draw the exterior air into the habitability area through the exterior air inlet ductwork and purge air from within the habitability area to the environment exterior of the habitability area through the smoke purge outlet ductwork even during periods when the at least one recirculation air handling unit is not in operation. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one recirculation air handling unit stored energy power source structured and operable to provide operating power to the at least one recirculation air handling unit for a limited duration in the absence of constant supplied power. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one recirculation air handling unit comprises a heating element for heating the recirculation air flow generated by the at least one recirculation air handling unit. 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a chilled coolant thermal storage tank located in a room separate from the habitability area and fluidly connected to the at least one recirculation air handling unit to provide chilled coolant to the at least one recirculation air handling unit for cooling the recirculation air flow generated by the at least one recirculation air handling unit. 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one chilled coolant thermal storage tank stored energy power source structured and operable to provide operating power to the chilled coolant thermal storage tank for a limited duration in the absence of constant supplied power. 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a replacement air subsystem, the replacement air subsystem including; at least one replacement air handling unit located within a room separate from the habitability area, andreplacement air carrying ductwork connecting the at least one replacement air handling unit to one of the upper plenum and the lower plenum for providing replacement air to the habitability area. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the replacement air subsystem further includes a pair of isolation dampers within the replacement air carrying ductwork substantially immediately adjacent an exterior boundary of the habitability area, the isolation dampers structured and operable to provide a substantially air-tight seal within the replacement air carrying ductwork such that air can not flow into or out of the habitability area via the replacement air carrying ductwork. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the smoke purge subsystem further includes: a pair of inlet isolation dampers positioned in series within the exterior air inlet ductwork substantially immediately adjacent an exterior boundary of the habitability area, the inlet isolation dampers structured and operable to provide a substantially air-tight seal within the exterior air inlet ductwork when the smoke purge subsystem is not operating such that air cannot flow into or out of the habitability area via the exterior air inlet ductwork; anda pair of outlet isolation dampers positioned in series within the smoke purge outlet ductwork substantially immediately adjacent the exterior boundary of the habitability area, the outlet isolation dampers structured and operable to provide a substantially air-tight seal within the smoke purge outlet ductwork when the smoke purge subsystem is not operating such that air cannot flow into or out of the habitability area via the smoke purge outlet ductwork. 9. A system for circulating and conditioning air within a nuclear plant, said system comprising: a habitability area with walls, a ceiling and a floor;an upper plenum formed between a ceiling partition within the habitability area and the ceiling of the habitability area, the ceiling partition including a plurality of air vents;a lower plenum formed between a raised floor partition within the habitability area and the floor of the habitability area, the floor partition including a plurality of air registers;a pair of redundant recirculation air handling units located within the habitability area, each recirculation air handling unit including an air inlet fluidly connected to the upper plenum, an air outlet fluidly connected to the lower plenum and a fan operable to generate a forced air flow through the respective recirculation air handling unit by drawing air in from the upper plenum through the respective air inlet and forcing air out into the lower plenum through the respective air outlet such that a recirculation air flow is created throughout the habitability area by air flowing out of the lower plenum through the floor partition registers and into the upper plenum through ceiling partition vents; anda smoke purge subsystem including, a smoke purge fan located exterior to the habitability area and directly connected to the upper plenum via smoke purge outlet ductwork, andexterior air inlet ductwork connecting an exterior air access to the lower plenum via the exterior air inlet ductwork,the smoke purge fan being a dedicated fan for the upper plenum of the habitability area and being operable to draw exterior air into the habitability area through the exterior air inlet ductwork and purge air from within the habitability area to an environment exterior of the habitability area through the smoke purge outlet ductwork, the lower plenum being a supply plenum for the recirculation air flow and the upper plenum being a return plenum for the recirculation air flow,wherein the smoke purge fan is further operable to draw the exterior air into the habitability area through the exterior air inlet ductwork and purge air from within the habitability area to the environment exterior of the habitability area through the smoke purge outlet ductwork even during periods when the pair of redundant recirculation air handling units is not in operation. 10. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one recirculation air handling unit stored energy power source structured and operable to provide operating power to each recirculation air handling unit for a limited duration in the absence of constant supplied power. 11. The system of claim 9, wherein each recirculation air handling unit comprises a heating element for heating the recirculation air flow generated by the at least one recirculation air handling unit. 12. The system of claim 9, further comprising a chilled coolant thermal storage tank located in a room separate from the habitability area and fluidly connected to each of the recirculation air handling units to provide chilled coolant to the recirculation air handling units for cooling the recirculation air flow generated by the respective recirculation air handling unit. 13. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one chilled coolant thermal storage tank stored energy power source structured and operable to provide operating power to the chilled coolant thermal storage tank for a limited duration in the absence of constant supplied power. 14. The system of claim 9, further comprising a replacement air subsystem, the replacement air subsystem including; a pair of redundant replacement air handling units located within a room separate from the habitability area, andreplacement air carrying ductwork connecting each replacement air handling unit to one of the upper plenum and the lower plenum for providing replacement air to the habitability area. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the replacement air subsystem further includes a pair of isolation dampers within the replacement air carrying ductwork substantially immediately adjacent an exterior boundary of the habitability area, the isolation dampers structured and operable to provide a substantially air-tight seal within the replacement air carrying ductwork such that air can not flow into or out of the habitability area via the replacement air carrying ductwork.